Planned Parenthood called several abortionists to the stand over the past week, including Dr. Mary Gatter, former Medical Director for two Los Angeles area Planned Parenthood affiliates, and Dr. Deborah Nucatola, former Medical Director for Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
On cross examination, Gatter was forced to admit to the jury that she told David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt that she “wanted a Lamborghini” as she negotiated the sale of aborted baby parts. Because federal district court Judge William Orrick has thus far not allowed the jury to view the videos that are the subject of the lawsuit, this testimony was the first time the nine men and three women heard some of the content that caused a public outcry in 2015.
Gatter also testified that she felt “violated” after the videos were published and therefore required the protection of an armed security guard. However, Life Legal VP of Legal Affairs Katie Short pressed Gatter on what she really meant by “violated”:
SHORT: And when you said you felt violated by the video – and you felt violated because you thought that was an unfair portrayal of you, is that correct?
GATTER: Yes.
SHORT: And not simply because it showed that you were associated with Planned Parenthood. Correct?
GATTER: …due to the way they edited it, they made me look bad. So, yes. I didn’t like that.
Planned Parenthood is seeking reimbursement for hundreds of thousands of dollars in security costs to allegedly “protect” its employees following the release of the videos, but what the testimony thus far reveals is that PP abortionists are merely angry and embarrassed that they were caught telling the truth about their willingness to sell body parts.
When asked about how many abortions she performs each month, Dr. Nucatola couldn’t recall, saying she did an average of “between 50 and 200.” However, in her sworn deposition, Nucatola testified that she worked one week a month at an Illinois clinic, where she did “200 abortions a week.” This means she has likely aborted over 50,000 babies in her career.
Now-retired abortionist Leslie Drummond-Hay testified about procuring fetal tissue and organs that Planned Parenthood Northern California furnished to tissue procurement middleman Stem Express. A video played during her testimony showed her exclaiming over an order from for “four intact limbs.” On cross, Katie Short elicited testimony that Drummond-Hay attended the National Abortion Federation conference where she was recorded on her own, not as an employee of any of the plaintiffs suing David Daleiden, Sandra Merritt, and the Center for Medical Progress, which means she has no claims against any of the defendants.
This week, Jennifer Castle, PP’s Director of Clinical Services, and June Gupta, PP’s Director of Medical Standards took the stand. Castle testified to a recent article she published titled, “Why I’m Proud to Provide Safe and Legal Abortions: Abortion Providers are Heroes,” in which she boasts of her “power and potential to ease the suffering of the person who is pregnant.” Of course she never mentions the suffering of the unborn victims of abortion.
Life Legal’s Katie Short cross-examined Gupta and elicited the admission that the video that was published of Gupta sharing a meal with David Daleiden did not actually include any conversation:
GUPTA: …I don’t have a memory of a conversation at that table.
SHORT: Okay. So that was not, in fact, a recording of a confidential conversation with you. Is that correct?
GUPTA: With me?
SHORT: Yeah.
GUPTA: It was not.
In order for PP to recover damages, it must show that the videos record confidential communications. Moreover, both Castle and Gupta acknowledged that they never received any threats and did not incur any expenses due to increased security because of the videos.
David Daleiden began his testimony this week as well. After PP attorney Rhonda Trotter finished her direct examination of Daleiden, his attorneys were able to show a 20/20 episode from 2000 featuring an undercover investigation into fetal tissue and organ trafficking.
The trial is expected to continue through the second week in November.